The Human-Weapon Project
by Lyon.The.Demon
Summary: An AU in which Ryuuken never offers to restore Uryuu's powers, instead, Kisuke Urahara offers Uryuu a special item, unlike anything they've ever seen before. Over time, the weapon begins to infect Uryuu's mind, and we come to the stunning realization that the weapon... is human? Wait, what?
1. Match - 76 Percent

*~*~*~*~*~*~)-~-(~*~*~*~*~*~*

"DAMN IT." Uryuu couldn't help the snarl that bubbled its way past his throat as his knees gave out beneath him and he hurtled toward the grass, barely managing to catch himself with his hands before breaking his fall with his nose.

He sat there, crumpled in on himself for what felt like hours trying to still his overworked heart and lungs, his worn down body trembling from the constant training to return powers he all but knew were gone forever. This couldn't have been a worse time to be completely powerless, but no matter what he did… Unbidden, the image of Orihime creeping into class, trying her best to stay out of the attention that was still showered on her, especially with her torn up appearance, found its way to the front of his brain. All those bandages… He didn't understand. What did Ichigo do? Or not do, as it was…? In fact, the past month had been rather strange and worry-inducing, considering the sudden influx of Shinigami from the Soul Society randomly showing up… _in class_ … and the equally worrying number of hollows that had been appearing all over.

Everything had spiraled from that point it seemed, a blanket of gloom settling over Karakura town, infecting the minds of its more aware inhabitants, though the 'normal' populace seemed uneffected by the changes, as usual. That, at least, was a good sign… right?

Despite his earlier expletive, the forest around him was quiet with the fading sun, with only silence and loneliness to accompany his derailing thoughts. The remnants of the cape of his battle suit billowed out behind him in the autumn wind, his shadow casting a mangled image before him, showcasing just how he truly felt inside. Defeated.

With another snarl, he shoved the ground as hard as he could to force his momentum upward, and managed to bring himself fairly steadily onto dangerously wobbling knees, the muscles in his thighs spasming their discontent and threatening to throw him straight back down, but he refused to allow the weakness. Swallowing away the tightness in his throat, he lifted arms that didn't want to move into their perfect positions, right hand extended with his elbow slightly bowed outward, left arm poised to draw an arrow back from a bow that refused to form. He wouldn't be the only one powerless in this sea of chaos… He _refused._

Summoning every last ounce of energy remaining in his body felt like he was actually tapping into his life force, and for a single second, it was like Uryuu's entire being _pulsed_ as he could feel an iciness seep its way past the fingertips on his right hand at an alarming rate up his arm, sweeping straight into the core of his being. His chest constricted and he screamed.

*~*~*~*~*~*~)-~-(~*~*~*~*~*~*

Uryuu awoke with a start, sitting up in a panic of unknowing when he had even closed his eyes, only for his entire body to protest the movement and send him straight back onto a hard futon, a warm cloth slipping off his forehead and onto the black sheets beneath him. He could feel another scream bubbling up in his throat, more from frustrated rage than the lingering pain of training himself too hard, but he managed to grapple it down before it made itself known.

Taking a quick assessment of his surroundings with dazed and un-bespectacled eyes, he thought his surroundings looked… familiar. In fact…

"Ah." The sharp sound of a fan snapping closed was the final nail in the coffin. Uryuu knew where he was. "You're awake. That's good. Can you move?"

A simple thought back to how he woke up, and the dull but persistent ache all over his body gave him a resounding , "No. I can't." He just hadn't meant for the words to come out nearly as sharp or tinged with pure hatred… but they did, and it was enough to keep the Shinigami shopkeeper quiet long enough for the silence to become almost unbearable.

So Uryuu moved onto a more important question in his mind, forcing his words to become slower, more even in tone, without his previous biting edge of scathing rage.

"Where are my glasses?"

A quiet and rueful sigh filled the room as Uryuu heard the distinctive clop of the wooden sandals resounding around him, coming closer before he could just _feel_ the man standing over him, glasses or no. Still, he was startled when a blur entered his vision and despite his immediate attempt to twist away from the suddenness of the shadow looming above him, he felt his glasses slipped onto his face rather carefully, the world taking on much sharper edges around him. Heaving quietly and trying not to show his sudden panic at the quick and unpredicted movements of Urahara, he chose to instead narrow his gaze as he scrutinized his whereabouts; recognizing the backroom of the 'shop' the older man 'ran'.

How he got there was another question entirely, but as he shifted his glare toward the green and white clad man, he found Urahara had sat down beside Uryuu's bedside, legs folded beneath his body so the clogs adorning his feet were no longer visible. The fan rested, closed, in his left hand atop his lap, though most of his gaze was still shaded by that irritatingly large hat he wore, blocking Uryuu from guessing at intentions and emotions as accurately as he could have.

"You're a proud being, Uryuu."

"That doesn't explain why you've technically kidnapped me. How long have I even been out?"

The irritation in his voice was obvious, but only seemed to gather a chuckle from Urahara as once more he snapped his fan open, hiding the rest of his face as he countered,

"True. I assumed you didn't want to die from over-extending yourself in the woods, but I could have very well been wrong, in which case, you're still free to leave. Once you can move again." Urahara paused, giving Uryuu time to register the meaning behind his words, which only pulled his lips into more of a scowl, but the man was already continuing. "If not, there's a somewhat pressing matter that we really need to-"

A door opening loudly in the next room cut Urahara off, voices and footsteps bubbling upward in volume as they came rapidly closer, and Uryuu groaned at the stiffness and numbness keeping him from sitting up. Great. Within seconds, the door to the backroom where they were slid open, and the frustrated growl of "Now what, Old Man?" made Uryuu want to roll his eyes and sink into the floor all the same. He didn't even need to see the lanky form of the orange haired Shinigami to know who the voice belonged to, though he did try and lift his head slightly for the extra pair of footsteps that followed Ichigo in silently.

A tanned, muscular stature almost completely shrouded the doorway, but his form was as unmistakable to Uryuu as Ichigo's voice was- Chad. Uryuu's head flopped back onto the hard pillow, now knowing who all was there, but a sudden thought furrowed his brows.

Where was Orihime?

"Please, take a seat. Anywhere is fine." Urahara spoke, motioning with his fan to the floor beside him, but the two stayed standing, with Ichigo folding his arms in defiance.

"You _know_ we don't have time for this?!"

Startled, Uryuu attempted to pick his head up again, wincing at the pain in his neck, to see Ichigo's face contorted in panic and barely tempered rage. Even Chad's face looked worried under the bangs that normally hid his expression from the world, but the grim set to his lips told the whole story. Something had happened. Uryuu's chest felt suddenly constricted even as he was forced to lower his head again, humphing a quiet sigh of frustration as he was delegated to watching the tops of their heads and the ceiling as he listened.

"Actually, you have all the time in the world, now. Word was passed down by Head Captain Yamamoto that Orihime is officially declared a traitor to the Shinigami, and any rescue attempt is expressly forbidden."

The cry of outrage from the others in the room was nothing to the sudden outburst Uryuu had, his body immediately flying into a sitting position, even as the sheer pain of the motion caught up to him and turned his cry of bewilderment into a sharp gasp that drew attention to his state. A deep, pulsing burning infiltrated his spine, and it was all Uryuu could do to remain sitting, but he forced himself not to move; better a single slip-up than to make more of his situation than it was.

Chad both seemed startled and unsure of what to react to, the information, or Uryuu's obvious faltering, but thankfully, headstrong Ichigo drew attention away from Uryuu's plight by stepping forward menacingly toward Urahara, his arms unfolding from his chest to drop into fists at his sides. Like he was gearing up for a fight against Urahara.

"I hope you're not implying you're going to stop us…"

His words came out more like a growl, dark and goading, waiting for Urahara to confirm exactly why they had all been gathered for this useless information. Honestly, Uryuu was somewhat heartened by Ichigo's obvious defiance of orders handed to him when it came to Orihime, but then the truth of the matter sunk in, and he couldn't help his biting retort,

"You're calling Orihime a traitor? And what do you mean, _rescue attempts_? Where is she?!"

Once more, he'd drawn the attention of Chad, as well as Urahara, though he and Ichigo remained glaring at the green and white clad man as he sighed quietly, once more motioning with his fan for the two new additions to sit as he spoke,

"That's why you should sit; Uryuu's been… shall we say, out of the loop. So he needs caught up if the rescue is going to go off without a hitch underneath the Soul Society's nose."

His words seemed to quiet Ichigo's sudden, seething rage, and while Chad took his cue and lowered himself onto the floor in front of Uryuu and beside Urahara, Ichigo remained standing, his hands finding their way into his pockets as he fixed Urahara with the same glare Uryuu continued to give the man, his mind working in overdrive. Just from what little he'd heard and seen, already he'd assumed Orihime had somehow been abducted, but the story that came next was almost unbelievable.

Urahara turned back to him, and in great detail explained the arrancar situation, and that Orihime had not only been spirited away by this… Ulquiorra, under his own nose no less, but branded a traitor for what seemed like willing participation in her own abduction. Uryuu's head was already spinning by this point, speculation at Orihime's mindset and worry for her wellbeing overshadowing his own lingering fatigue and agony. Compounding the issues worse, Urahara continued.

"Now, I have a way to follow their path; to send the three of you to Hueco Mundo-"

"Why aren't we going now?!" Ichigo interrupted, which only made Urahara snap his fan shut sharply, letting it come to rest in his lap as he responded with a similar biting tone,

"Because not all of you are at full power, in case you forgot."

Amid the swirling, rising panic of the situation, Uryuu felt his cheeks color with shame, knowing he was the one being referred to. All gazes in the room came to settle on Uryuu, who had managed to remain sitting despite the constant waves of nausea and grinding pain in his body, but just as Uryuu was prepared to volley a retort of not being entirely helpless, Urahara continued.

"Uryuu. I have an option for you, if you'd be willing to accept a… gift."

Urahara hesitated on the last word, as if it weren't quite the word he'd wanted to use, and Uryuu's brows furrowed in confusion, trying to process the information he'd received. So they would be going against the Soul Society's orders to rescue a friend- so far it was sounding more than alright with Uryuu, but 'not being at full power' and 'gift' were swirling in his head. He had a sinking feeling Urahara was leaving out specific, integral information, yet the words that bubbled from his throat didn't seem to care about the logical assumptions his mind was forming.

"I accept."

The sinking feeling dropped heavily into his gut as he watched the grin spread out over Urahara's face, and instantly he had a feeling he'd made a choice he would come to regret. Unfortunately, being a Quincy meant he was also a man of his word, and he had already-

"Wonderful!" Punctuated by the re-opening and fluttering of the fan in front of his face, Urahara continued as he stood, "Excuse me for a moment, if you will."

He exited the room through another set of sliding doors, leaving the three in awkward silence for several moments, in which Ichigo finally calmed enough to back up against the wall behind him, sliding down it onto his haunches, his eyes catching Uryuu's. With a silent shrug, Uryuu tried to convey he was just as clueless as they were, but even that motion sent a new, stabbing pain through his body, and it was everything he could do to keep himself silent. Opening his eyes, not realizing he had closed them in the assault on his senses, he noticed the slight look of concern on the Substitute Shinigami's face, and instantly schooled his expression from the grimace it must have fallen into, cursing inwardly at his display of weakness.

"What do you think the gift is?" Chad spoke up, obviously trying to tear the atmosphere away from the awkwardness that had settled over the three of them, but only serving to leave the question hanging in the air as neither Ichigo nor Uryuu would answer.

A few more tense minutes passed before the door slid back open with a flourish, and Urahara swept back into the room, carrying a long, dark wood box, intricately carved with strange, ornate designs. The box was nearly as long as Uryuu was tall, he mused, but he couldn't steal his gaze away from it once he looked; there was… some kind of power emanating from it, and even without his Quincy powers, he could feel the sheer aura of it. Raw, aching… reaching. The feeling startled him, especially when one of the first words to describe the feeling that entered his mind was loneliness. A feeling he knew all too well. Suddenly apprehensive about this entire thing, he worked to force his gaze from the box that had been set on the floor before him, upward to the still shaded gaze of Urahara.

"What… is this?"

"Open it."

Urahara's voice was almost gleeful, and painfully aware he had the gazes of Chad and Ichigo glued to him in almost as much anticipation despite the situation, Uryuu couldn't help the scowl that formed across his lips, his brows knotting as he steeled himself for movement. Carefully, trying not to hiss at each fresh wave of pain that flashed through his body, Uryuu delicately reached forward with the arm that wasn't supporting him to carefully unclick the tiny black and silver hatches on the front of the box, and lifted the lid. Its insides were coated in dark red velvet, and within the velvet outline was a breathtakingly stunning _bladed_ bow.

From tip to hand-hold in both directions was a perfect curve of at least a short sword length, glinting blade of pure black inlayed with silver runes and scrawling script in a language even Uryuu couldn't recognize. Its handle was thin, and the string that turned an otherwise regular hand-to-hand weapon into a long range/short range bow was as stunning as it was new, and strange. As awestruck as he was, Uryuu had to admit to his perplexion, compounded further by the sheer wave of _**PICK ME UP**_ emanating from the item. His brows furrowing further, he was reaching for the handle before he registered he was going to, the pain in his body taking a backseat to the sudden, overwhelming feeling wafting toward him, pulling him toward the weapon.

The moment his hand touched the handle, the room spun and faded from his vision in a vertigo-inducing wave of dizziness that left him as breathless as the sudden sensation of cool metal disfiguring itself, or rather, _extending_ itself from its shape into almost liquid like tendrils that captured his hand and curled up his arm before he could shake it off or drop the item. His startled cry rang out around him as he leaped to his feet, unaware that pain did not cloud his movement, shaking his hand furiously to dislodge the cool metal that suddenly dug into the flesh of his arm just below his elbow, and with a jolt he could feel the silky coolness of the metal attaching to his muscle as it flowed past even his elbow, traveling up his arm and into his shoulder.

Breath coming hard and heavy at this point, Uryuu's left hand clamped down on his right shoulder, unaware how pressure would stop something already _IN_ his arm, but unknowing of what else to do as his round eyes stared at the sight of the large bubbles on his flesh, crawling with what was underneath. He sunk his fingers into the bubbles that threatened to continue, and miraculously, they halted, still moving unnaturally beneath his skin, but desperation drove him to try and push the things back down his arm, and again, strangely enough, they receded back to his elbow, but still buried in his flesh. He was just about to push further, heart racing and knees shaking from the strangeness enveloping him, when a wave of pure sadness pressed into him, forcing what breath he had left from his lungs.

 **… _you don't want me?_**

The voice was distorted and mangled, but the words he more understood than heard, a second thought in his mind as he stared down at the glinting, beautiful weapon in his hands that looked like it had taken root into his arm. Overcome by indecisiveness, he watched as ever so slowly the tendrils retracted from his skin, ebony tendrils retreating from ivory flesh, and he could feel nothing but an oppressive air of dejection and loneliness that shook his heart.

"Wait!"

The word was out of his mouth before he realized it, and the retreating immediately halted, a hope blooming in his chest that he wasn't quite sure where it came from, but it gripped him all the same, breathing new life into the absolute darkness around him.

 **… _you… want me?_**

Gasping now, his mind trying frantically to make some kind of sense of what was going on, Uryuu lifted his fingers away from his arm, watching as the black tendrils swayed and pulsed over his hand, as if they too, were asking for his acceptance. His mouth was dry, and part of his brain screamed at him this was not a light decision to make, but the force of the loneliness from before, and the hope swelling in his breast currently, curled his tongue as his lips formed the words,

"I… do."

Violently, though there was no true 'pain' from the act, (Just shock and the expectation of pain that never came,) the tendrils roared to life over his skin, burrowing back into the flesh underneath his elbow and racing up his arm, unrestricted as he felt the iciness pooling into his core and taking over his entire form. Fear, awe, bewilderment, panic, and amazement flooded through his veins at the sight, but more than anything, he felt…

 ** _Happy._**

*~*~*~*~*~*~)-~-(~*~*~*~*~*~*

"So?"

The word startled Uryuu, his gaze flying upward to the sound of the familiar voice, and he instantly hissed from the pain and stiffness in his neck, the light weight in his right hand thumping back into the velvet impression of itself. Startled, Uryuu glanced around Urahara's shop, wondering when, or if, he had ever left it, his gaze landing on the confused stares Ichigo and Chad were fixing him with, but he was almost beyond caring, so deep his daze went.

What… had just happened? He looked to glance down at his hand once more, but even around his elbow, there was no sign anything he had just witnessed had actually been reality. It was as if he had only imagined the tendrils… yet, from the item before him, the strange weapon that seemed to call to him, he could feel that resounding loneliness again, and he carefully reached forward, taking it in his grasp again, flinching as he expected to see those tendrils again. None were forthcoming, and when the weapon stayed a weapon, he glanced up at Urahara, not quite trusting himself to speak, not even really knowing what questions to ask. He guessed his questioning look was enough to get the message across, because he watched the older man smile slowly, before closing the now empty box with his foot and scooting it out of Uryuu's way, the bow still held tightly in his grip.

His fan swished as he re-opened it, fanning his face and hiding his features once more as his voice seemed to echo in Uryuu's ears,

"Wonderful. It's a match. That could have gone pretty badly, but I'm glad you get along."

… What did he just get himself into…?


	2. Compatibility - 83 Percent

*~*~*~*~*~*~)-~-(~*~*~*~*~*~*

" _I'll require two days to get things set up for your trip, so make use of that time and get to know your new… weapon."_

Of course he would, Uryuu thought with a grimace, taking his place opposite Ichigo and Chad in the open arena that was Urahara's basement, appearances be damned. A slight wind fluttered the back of his battle cape out around his shoulders, and he couldn't seem to control the upward climb of his heartrate, beating solidly against his chest. He swore he felt each pump moving his body, and was surprised the other two hadn't said a word about it yet, but they seemed to be taking up their stances as well, if not with some form of hesitation, and he didn't blame them.

No arrows came with the weapon, and Urahara had waved them off with a smug, "You won't need them." With a scowl pulling his brows into more of a furrow, Uryuu glanced down at the sleek, bladed bow he held loosely in his right hand, wondering just how this weapon was going to work. He was no good at close range, and he had only ever fired normal bows and his Quincy bow, so how did Urahara expect him to deal with-

"You ready?" Chad called out, gripping Uryuu's attention.

When he looked up, he swore he saw a smirk on Ichigo's face as he leaned in close to Chad and whispered something that sounded like 'I feel like my dad right now,' before he reached back for his Zanpakto, which came readily un-swaddled from the ribbon of bandages as he drew it forward, pointing it at Uryuu. That same smirk was still ghosting over his lips, only furthering Uryuu's frown, but there was no further time for thought.

"INITIATION!"

The startling cry Ichigo gave startled Uryuu, and he almost missed the Shinigami kicking off the ground and rushing headlong toward him seconds before he disappeared from sight. Eyes wide, Uryuu's head flung from one direction to the next, trying to pinpoint where the boy would be attacking from, when he felt a sudden pulse from the hand gripping his new bow, and the sound of metal clashing against metal echoed in his ears seconds before realizing he had somehow turned, the top blade of his bow holding at bay the large sword Ichigo wielded.

Ichigo's surprise mirrored Uryuu's awe that his body had moved even without his consent, but the movement was so natural, so fluid-

"The hell?"

That was Ichigo's voice, but the sound was so far away, even though the boy was close enough Uryuu could almost smell his breath. Motions around him seemed to slow, and he still couldn't feel the true resistance of holding Ichigo's Zanpakto at bay with only one arm; it was almost as if he were just standing there, watching events play out in front of him. It was with that thought, Uryuu noticed among the apparent slowing of time, the world around him took on a darker tint to the edges, like that same black void from before was attempting to encroach on Urahara's basement, and suddenly he could see those ebony tendrils from his bow again. They had fully encased his hand and arm up to his elbow, where they disappeared beneath the skin, leaving the flesh above that point bubbling and shifting (It looked so painful, so… why didn't it actually hurt?) as he watched his arm slowly coil in on itself, before pushing forward, the blade of his bow clashing against the blade of Ichigo's Zanpakto and forcing Ichigo to retreat.

The slow motion was interesting, and despite the growing concern of things being somewhat out of his control at the moment, Uryuu couldn't help the growing wonder and awe as he watched Ichigo lean backward and kick off the ground, his body lifting into the air as he backtracked to try another attack. The pulse that flowed through Uryuu's body like an electrical current lifted the bladed bow to point at the airborne Shinigami, and in a fluid and practiced motion, Uryuu's left arm drew forth, like it was his Quincy bow he held so familiarly. His left fingers brushed the liquid metal that encased his right, lower arm, and the goo folded and shifted, dancing before his fingertips as he pulled straight back, his elbow high and even with his ear.

Without damaging the mass that coated his arm, a slender tendril of the black liquid followed his fingertips as they pulled away, forming into a thin, glinting bolt; its fletching a sleek, black as night feather that Uryuu just knew was sharp enough to slice through rock on its own. How he knew, he didn't know, but he knew. The shaft of the arrow formed fully after that; simple, and barely the width of his pinky, but the arrowhead seemed to form away from his fingers, even as it notched itself into place on his bow. Almost mechanical in appearance, there were five prongs (Reminiscent of his grandfather's Quincy cross? No… it couldn't be.) that drew from their deadly point upward into a curve, before jutting back into the shaft at yet another deadly angle, like the arrow had the ability to unhinge and open up to create as much damage as possible.

Now that he was thinking about it, this weapon truly was dangerous, but even his thought process seemed affected by the slow motion around him, and the thought was there and discarded as the arrow was pulled back to its fullest extension, his sights trained on the still hovering Ichigo, who's eyes had slowly been widening as he drifted backward. Uryuu felt his entire body pulse again, and that uneven, voice-feeling echoed through him, startling Uryuu to his core.

 _ **Die.**_

"NO!" the cry ripped itself from his throat even as he felt the deadly intent thrum through his blood, and it took every ounce of strength in his body to shift his arms somewhat to the right as his fingers loosed the arrow without his permission, the slow motion time effect giving way and returning Uryuu to the darkness-tinged-free world of Urahara's basement. Ichigo landed a good few yards away from Uryuu, his hair and hakama fluttering violently in the current whipped up by the arrow that flew past his cheek, embedding itself in one of the distant mountains before exploding viciously, the earth beneath their feet quaking as chunks of rock and debris scattered out around them.

All three heads jerked to stare at the wake of destruction; as the dust settled, even the path of the arrow had torn up the ground before it, creating a giant spiral that ripped through the earth on its way toward the huge mountain of rock… that no longer really existed. There were spiked edges on the outside of the arrow's path, but its center had been completely blown away. Completely eradicated. The sheer level of destruction was startling, and Uryuu lowered his bow arm, despite the strong pang of _**… battle…?**_ as he forced himself to tear his gaze away, glancing down at his right arm.

He could no longer see the black tendrils encasing him, but he could _feel_ them, shifting and moving without pain, but ever present and _there._ As he studied his arm, he felt his vision tinge with that same, dark aura as he watched the motions around him slow again, and the blackness encasing his arm became visible once more, pulsing more violently than before even as he tried to reason with… who? Himself? The weapon? … if he was honest, he really wasn't sure.

 _I can't use that kind of force against these guys; I don't want to kill them. They're my friends! Allies!_

… _**allies?**_

The question hung in his mind, an echo to his conviction, even as he vehemently restated,

 _Allies. Friends._

The shift in himself was almost tangible, and Uryuu could all but feel the bow in his hand thrumming with thought as the corners of his own mouth lifted into an unbidden smirk, his heart pounding a tattoo against his chest as his stance widened slightly, his bow arm lowering slightly to hold the weapon more like a sword in front of him, pointed directly at Ichigo, who had just begun to turn back to face him, eyes wide and searching. The darkness at the edges of Uryuu's vision hadn't completely faded, but time was moving almost at full speed again, and Ichigo was waving his Zanpakto toward Uryuu and shouting some kind of flustered remark that he just couldn't quite catch. Instead, Uryuu was more focused on the sudden words that seemed to spill from his own lips, with a voice that was distinctly his, and yet… he'd not meant to say the words. Hadn't even thought them until…

"Parameters accepted. Two life forms recognized as friendly units. Commencing Sparring Mode."

Ichigo wore an expression not far from Uryuu's own emotions, full of a sudden caution and bewilderment, yet Uryuu couldn't help the hum of anticipation singing through his body, curling his muscles as his knees lowered slightly, and suddenly he was springing forth, toward Ichigo, closing the distance like it was second nature.

*~*~*~*~*~*~)-~-(~*~*~*~*~*~*

After several long hours of training, Uryuu felt he finally had some understanding of his new weapon. His feet landed nimbly on the edge of a tall slab of rock, overlooking the grounds as his eyes scanned the area, waiting for physical movement or a change in the spiritual pressure in the air to indicate where the threat was coming from next. His grip had loosened on his bow just slightly, holding it sideways in front of him as he analyzed what he knew.

Urahara had been right; he hadn't needed any arrows for his weapon. It did somehow resemble his old Quincy bow, in that the arrows seemed to be made of his own spiritual pressure, mixed in with that black liquid that only he could see, attaching the bow to him. He could also feel the bow pulling in his own spiritual pressure, even as Uryuu pulled his energy from the Reishi around him, and the effect was an amplified strength that Uryuu never would have dreamed he would possess. His aim had taken a direct hit, having switched weapons like this, but he had to wonder if the bow was trying to aim itself as well, which might account for the inaccuracy.

He noticed the change in the air as soon as his right arm moved, the tip of his blade meeting Chad's fist, the wind of the motion blowing Uryuu's hair sloppily around his face, and for a moment, he let his body slip into the automatic reactions as he continued to think. Whatever that black goo was, it really did link him and this weapon, which seemed to have a consciousness all its own. How that was possible, he still wasn't quite sure, but he couldn't rule out the voice that was there and not at the same time, or that his body was able to move in such fluid and automatic ways without his input. Not to mention, of course, the darkness that attached the bow to him that neither Ichigo nor Chad had commented on, or even acted like they had noticed.

He had pushed Chad back even as he found himself watching his own motions like an outsider as his bow was pointed skyward, seconds before the clash of metal on metal surprised him, turning Uryuu's gaze skyward, where Ichigo had come from nowhere with a downward swing, trying to get the drop on him. Instead, Uryuu couldn't help but laugh quietly under his breath, unable to deny the rush of adrenaline coursing through his veins as his legs bunched and released, and he jumped to meet Ichigo, the tip of his blade sliding along Ichigo's Zanpakto as Uryuu drew back another arrow, point blank.

He couldn't deny the satisfaction in Ichigo's widening eyes, and even though he curved his aim at the last minute, the two flying off in opposite directions, as Uryuu loosed the arrow he felt a strong sense of power, a complete turnaround from how he'd felt mere days before hand. It was almost as if he were back at full strength again, and that –

Uryuu gasped loudly as his feet hit the ground jarringly, collapsing beneath him. The flood of satisfaction and adrenaline was replaced with an overwhelming sense of being drained, and as his entire body crumpled into the ground, Uryuu realized with a start he'd depleted almost all his energy somehow. He hadn't even realized it was happening, and yet—

"Uryuu!"

He heard Ichigo and Chad, but their voices were distant, and he was too focused on the sudden convulsing of the tendrils encased in his arm, watching with trepidation as his flesh billowed out in shifting pockets, to the point he was truly afraid his arm would explode. He could feel his entire body burning with the iciness that swept through him, leaving him shaking and trembling in a heap on the ground, and he could numbly feel that there were hands around his body now, the other two trying to pick him up and help him onto his feet, but his body didn't want to respond. The darkness that had tinged his vision before seemed to grow and expand, and it was only a few seconds later that everything seemed to just… disappear. All he knew for sure was that he and the bow were still attached.

*~*~*~*~*~*~)-~-(~*~*~*~*~*~*

Uryuu felt like he had been standing in this darkness for hours, and yet he couldn't for the life of him figure out why. Why he was here, what this place even was… It took a while for his memories to piece themselves together, and when they finally did, he was spinning in place, trying desperately to see… well, anything, really. Yet all that remained around him was that same, crushing, yet familiar darkness. It seemed crazy to feel that anything to do with this new bow was familiar, and still, it was the only word he could honestly use to describe the pressure radiating around him.

"What… are you?" he found himself calling out, unsure if he would be answered.

There was no hesitation; no true voice that called out to him in that moment, yet the resounding answer was all the same.

 _ **I am your weapon.**_


End file.
